Whilst growing up looking at different businesses in different sectors gave Jared a healthy curiosity to want to find out what it takes to run a successful business. He found himself curious about the answers to various questions such as: How do you manage your staff? How do you manage your finances? How do you deal with people? What strategies do you implement? What do you invest in? The list of questions goes on and on, and he found that the answer to each question varies from business to business. Jared wanted to be the person who could answer these questions and run a successful business and he figured that a degree in business management would get him one step closer to this goal.
For all students, the coronavirus global pandemic made life very difficult. Jared personally enjoyed being in a class and interacting with students and lecturers. He felt that the experience just was not the same via Microsoft teams. Communication was often very frustrating and going back and forth with students and lecturers via email was a long and tiring process, especially when there was no response. Group assignments became a huge challenge. However, with good time management and perseverance, he was able to overcome some of these obstacles.
Jared believes that balancing your life comes down to having good time management skills. This was something he learnt quickly and got better at throughout his time at university. Every Sunday he would take an hour or two to sit down and look at everything that was going on in his life. He took this time to plan, organise and communicate effectively for the week ahead. He always had each day, week and month planned out so that he always stayed on top of things.
Besides the academic knowledge that he gained from doing his degree, which will definitely be influential in his business ventures, he gained all sorts of other skills that he believes will set him up for success in the future. These skills include planning, organising, communication, perseverance, time-management, the list goes on.
To stay focused, Jared always kept his eyes on the prize. The further he got in his studies, the more time and money he had invested into his degree, and he wasn’t going to give up and let it all go to waste. His family and friends always gave him support and encouraged him to push through and continue working hard. Jared’s unwavering faith and having Jesus at the centre of his life were a crucial role in his success, this helped him overcome stress and anxiety and gave him the strength to continue.
When asked what advice he would extend to other students who are seeking academic excellence, Jared said : “I think as a student it is important to understand why you are studying and keep the end goal in mind. Live a balanced and consistent life. You can’t work all day and you can’t play all day either. Have a system that works for you, whatever it is e.g. if you know that afternoons are not your most productive hours, then use that time to do things that fill you, and then work mornings and evenings. As long as you are consistently putting in the work, you will achieve your goals. Celebrate the little wins. It will encourage going forward.”
At the moment Jared is working part-time, interning at Bay City Church. He is also a squash coach and a 2nd hand sporting goods retailer.